Americans hit the gym in search of bigger arms, massive chests and smaller waists, but many don’t know that gyms are hotbeds for germs.

ABC News conducted a test to find out just how many germs people could encounter when working out.

Dr. Philip Tierno, a microbiologist, said that the large number of people, exposed skin, and sweat present at gyms could be perfect for spreading infections.

“You’re not using that one machine exclusively for yourself,” Tierno said. “You’re leaving that machine, and someone else follows you and your germs that you leave behind. Eighty percent of all infectious disease is transmitted by contact.”

Tierno said that if a sick person used a machine, the person who used it next and then touched their eyes or mouth could get sick.

ABC News staffers took swabs to almost every piece of gym equipment they used and brought the samples to Tierno’s lab at New York University Hospital.

Tierno found the germs staph aureus, klebsiella, enterobacter and E. coli, which can cause various ailments.

Risky Machines

Tierno said the highest risk areas at the gym were machines used by “multiple people in quick sequence, such as dumbbells, seats where people may bike, or where people may sit down to lift weights.”

For example, on a lateral pull-down machine, ABC News found bacillus, which comes from the soil.

It most likely came from someone’s shoes. On an exercise bike, ABC News found sarcinia, candida specie, staphylococcus epi and diptheroids.

The worst place of all was the shower floor.

“Unfortunately, germs do survive in the shower, on walls, and on the floor,” Tierno said. “I found it in hordes — unbelievable quantities. We use the word ‘innumerable.’ Innumerable.”

According to Tierno, E. coli and many of the other germs found by ABC News won’t necessarily make you sick.

“You wear your little slippers, and you’re OK,” Tierno said. “But just as easily as those nonpathogenic germs touch those surfaces, we can have more pathogenic forms touch them. That’s the point.”

Source (article): ABCNEWS

Source (picture): HEALTH-NEWS-BLOG

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Swimmers at crowded public beaches are likely to bring home more than a bit of sand in their bathing suits, according to U.S. researchers, who said as many as one in three swimmers may be exposed to contagious staph bacteria.

They said people who swim in subtropical marine waters have a 37 percent higher risk of being exposed to staph bacteria, including an antibiotic resistant staph known as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.

“We think that people are the instruments for bringing their organisms into the water and leaving it behind,” Dr. Lisa Plano of the University of Miami told reporters at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Chicago on Friday.

“I don’t know if that is the only source. The bacteria may still be in the sand left over from other people, but we haven’t studied that. These are things we plan to do in the future.”

People who have open wounds or are immune compromised have the greatest risk of infection, she said.

In one experiment with more than 1,000 bathers on a popular Florida beach, people spent 15 minutes dunking themselves in the sea, then bringing sea water back with them in a jug.

They then tested the water for staph and MRSA and found 37 percent of the samples contained staph, and 3 percent of those contained MRSA.

“I don’t think you should fear going to the beach,” Plano said, particularly if they take a few simple precautions.

She recommends people shower before going to the beach, to keep from depositing their own germs into the water. And she suggests they shower once they leave, to wash off any pathogens.

“If you don’t go into the water with a gaping wound, you should be fine,” Plano said.

SOURCE: REUTERS.COM

Jan. 20, 2009 — There has been an “alarming rise” in antibiotic-resistant head and neck infections in young children in recent years, researchers from Emory University in Atlanta report.

Specifically, researchers say more and more elementary school-aged children are developing Staphylococcus aureus (”staph,” or S. aureus) infections that do not respond to the antibiotic methicillin. The bacteria responsible for such infections are called MRSA (for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). MRSA is a common culprit in head and neck infections, and doctors believe it’s responsible for almost every skin infection.

Before the 1980s, most MRSA infections occurred in patients who were hospitalized. But in the past decade, the bacteria have become more common in crowded community environments, such as nursing homes and prisons, and among those with no known risk factors, according to information in the journal article.

“In recent years, there have been increasing reports of community-acquired MRSA infections in children,” the authors write in the journal report.

For the study, Iman Naseri, MD, and colleagues from Emory’s department of otolaryngology reviewed pediatric head and neck infection records from more than 300 hospitals in the U.S. between 2001 and 2006.

Over the six-year period, MRSA head and neck infections in children jumped from 12% of all S. aureus infections in the study in 2001 to 28% in 2006. The average age of the children was about 6 1/2. Most MRSA head and neck infections occurred in the ears (34%), followed by the nose and sinuses (28.3%) and the throat and neck (14.2%).

The findings, published in the January issue of Archives of Otolaryngology — Head & Neck Surgery, have prompted a call for more cautious use of antibiotics. According to the FDA, increasing use of antibiotics plays a large role in the development of antibiotic resistance. The U.S. government calls antibiotic resistance a major public health threat.

“Judicious use of antibiotic agents and increased effectiveness in diagnosis and treatment are warranted to reduce further antimicrobial drug resistance in pediatric head and neck infections,” Naseri’s team writes.

The authors say their results “depict an alarming increase in MRSA in the United States.” They encourage more rapid testing of suspected head and neck infections so that caregivers may prescribe the appropriate antibiotic treatment immediately. Using the wrong antibiotics or using antibiotics to treat a viral infection (such as a cold) can lead to further drug resistance, according to the FDA.

SOURCE: WebMD.Com

Salmonella, a bacterium often found in undercooked meats and raw eggs, can also be found in other foods as well. The latest outbreak, which has been responsible for over 400 cases in 42 states since the fall of 2008, is the result of peanut butter. On Saturday January 11th, King Nut Companies of Solon, Ohio recalled all brands of peanut butter distributed under the company’s name after it was discovered the day before by Minnesota health officials that salmonella was present in a five-pound open container of creamy King Nut peanut butter that company distributes to hospitals and schools. Their products are not sold directly to consumers and business clients have been asked to take all King Nut peanut butter and Parnell’s Pride peanut butter distributed by King Nut out of distribution immediately

Martin Kanan the president and CEO of King Nut Companies issued an apology for the outbreak and said that the company took immediate action to ensure safety.

“We are very sorry this happened,” said Martin Kanan, president and chief executive officer of King Nut Companies. “We are taking immediate and voluntary action because the health and safety of those who use our products is always our highest priority.”

The CDC says ingesting foods that have been infected with animal waste normally contracts salmonella bacteria contamination. The symptoms that people generally experience are abdominal cramps, diarrhea and fever, which generally occur within three days after contamination. The infection usually disappears after seven days & often does not require treatment, though some people have been hospitalized due to dehydration.

For more information about the recall, please visit http://www.kingnut.com

As I was stepping off of the beloved ARC trainer at the gym last night, in a thick coat of sweat and (hopefully) having burned off those chocolate chip cookies I ate a few hours before, I pondered just how many people had been on that machine before me that day. Who were they? What was their motivation to sweat on that machine? Did they sweat as much as I did? As these thought poured through my brain, all I could think of was: GymSoap. Sometimes the sights and smells at my favorite gym are just a little too much to handle, but trusty GymSoap helps calm my fears of little microscopic bacteria and fungus from sticking on me left from the sweaty guy on the machine before me. Scenario’s like this are what gave us one of our favorite slogans: Gyms are dirty but you don’t have to be! You can read more about some of the nastiness floating around the gym here. Am I the only one grossed out by accidently touching the sweat from the last person on the workout machine at the gym? Tell us about it….

Hello to all! Welcome to the GymSoap blog. This will be a place where our loyal customers (you are awesome) and visitors can read up on articles and information we find of interest. We will also be having special GIVEAWAYS! Check back frequently. The wonderful and talented staff (our second family) will be frequently adding to the blog also, so you will have a chance to get to know the crew at GymSoap. We look forward to hearing from you.